Hatred begets evil acts.
Harboring bitterness and hatred in one’s heart for another individual or group will dim the light of goodness in one’s life.
Six years ago today, was the tragedy at the Virginia Tech campus, where 32 lives were cut short by 1 individual. I couldn’t make sense of those actions after three days of watching the news, so I drove to Blacksburg, Virginia. In witnessing four days of pain by thousands of loved ones, I decided to act upon that event. One Million Acts Of Kindness as an individual, personal lifetime goal for everyone was the apparent answer.
The two messages on The Kindness Bus, in today’s picture were put there to inspire individuals. The one at the top is a reminder of that day six years ago, with the hopes that those who read it, will act out with goodness in their lives towards others. The bottom one is to let individuals know how much of a gift they can be to others. I wish the individual(s) who was responsible for yesterday’s bombing in Boston had taken heed of its loving message.
One other beautiful message is next to the door to The Kindness Bus and sums it up perfectly, “It’s a choice…choose love.”

My thoughts and prayers are for those affected by the evil and hatred of the bombers at the Boston Marathon.

Riding in San Francisco is such an enjoyable challenge. I stay on the flat near the water and ride the hills on occasion during the day. The foot traffic is along these areas as well. From the Golden Gate Bridge and Crissy Field through the Marina area, up and over to Fisherman’s Wharf, past the piers and the Ferry Building to the home of the Giants and back again is one of my favorite rides. People are everywhere, especially on the weekends. Having perfect weather is a big plus.
On my ride at the end of the day, there is no other way to ride except over some of the steepest hills in the Pacific Heights neighborhood I was in. I took the tougher of the two choices on my second to last hill and was rewarded with an incredible conversation about my ride with Natalie and Veronique, two sisters. Such beauty and healing through goodness came from it.

Palo Alto is a stop I made on my way north, yesterday. It is a town I need to spend a minimum of a week visiting, to have a big impact. My few hours I had time for were well spent, getting as much visibility for The Kindness Bicycle as humanly possible.
One of my stops was to visit with Carolyn Digovich, who volunteers with local students that express themselves through art, sharing their heartfelt experiences. Most of the paintings and photographs had the artist’s interpretations beneath. All of them addressed the challenges to succeed placed on kids these days.
Carolyn is working wonders with these students with less and less resources. Her passion for this project is second to none. I hope she is able to secure funding so she can continue to help these kids.

Howard Cosell used to say, The knee, it’s always the knee,” describing how it is always the part of the body that gives out first, because of overuse and apparent injury. Hills are the the biggest stressor on bicyclists. I am trying to not be one of those statistics.
The hills of San Francisco are challenging and hard not to ride, for they are nearly everywhere. There are ways to avoid some of the steeper ones by zigging and zagging my way around town, staying on the waterfront or a great loop through the Panhandle and Golden Gate Park. All of them incredible rides!
This is a very friendly city with people going out of the way to engage me in conversation. A big thank you to Andy for his huge interest in this mission and his donation as well.

Heading further north up the California coast, the town of San Luis Obispo was a must stop for The Kindness Bus. The old town section was a great place to park for my daytime stay. Riding through town proved to be the place to be on this perfect day. Today’s picture is from Bubblegum Alley, where, you guessed it, people have been sticking their gum on the walls of these two buildings since to 1950s.
I am trying to save my 58 year old knees, by being selective on the hills I ride. My ride to end Bullying and Adolescent Suicide will always be an daily piece of The Kindness Bus Tour for its remaining six years so I need to be kind to them. Unfortunately, The Kindness Bus is liking the hills much less and there are mountains ahead.